CH Core (R4)
4.0.1 - trial-use Switzerland flag

This page is part of the CH Core (R4) (v4.0.1: STU 4) based on FHIR (HL7® FHIR® Standard) R4. This is the current published version in its permanent home (it will always be available at this URL). For a full list of available versions, see the Directory of published versions

Resource Profile: CHCorePatientEPR - Detailed Descriptions

Active as of 2023-12-28

Definitions for the ch-core-patient-epr resource profile.

Guidance on how to interpret the contents of this table can be found here

0. Patient
ShortCH Core Patient EPR (to include the patient in an EPR document)
LOINC Code
2. Patient.identifier
NoteThis is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion)
Control1..?
LOINC Code
4. Patient.identifier:EPR-SPID
Slice NameEPR-SPID
NoteThis is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion)
Control0..0
LOINC Code
6. Patient.identifier:AHVN13
Slice NameAHVN13
NoteThis is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion)
Control0..0
LOINC Code
8. Patient.name
Control1..?
LOINC Code
10. Patient.gender
Control1..?
LOINC Code
12. Patient.birthDate
Control1..?
LOINC Code

Guidance on how to interpret the contents of this table can be found here

0. Patient
Definition

The CH Core Patient is based upon the core FHIR Patient Resource and designed to meet the applicable patient demographic data elements in Switzerland. See also https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/register/personenregister/registerharmonisierung/nomenklaturen.html for further information


Demographics and other administrative information about an individual or animal receiving care or other health-related services.

ShortCH Core Patient EPR (to include the patient in an EPR document)Information about an individual or animal receiving health care services
Control0..*
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Alternate NamesSubjectOfCare Client Resident
Invariantsdom-2: If the resource is contained in another resource, it SHALL NOT contain nested Resources (contained.contained.empty())
dom-3: If the resource is contained in another resource, it SHALL be referred to from elsewhere in the resource or SHALL refer to the containing resource (contained.where((('#'+id in (%resource.descendants().reference | %resource.descendants().as(canonical) | %resource.descendants().as(uri) | %resource.descendants().as(url))) or descendants().where(reference = '#').exists() or descendants().where(as(canonical) = '#').exists() or descendants().where(as(canonical) = '#').exists()).not()).trace('unmatched', id).empty())
dom-4: If a resource is contained in another resource, it SHALL NOT have a meta.versionId or a meta.lastUpdated (contained.meta.versionId.empty() and contained.meta.lastUpdated.empty())
dom-5: If a resource is contained in another resource, it SHALL NOT have a security label (contained.meta.security.empty())
dom-6: A resource should have narrative for robust management (text.`div`.exists())
ch-pat-1: At least one HumanName with given and family name must be provided. (name.where(family.exists() and given.exists()).count()>0 or name.empty())
ch-pat-2: gender unknown is currently not used in Switzerland in eCH and the EPR (gender.empty() or gender!='unknown')
2. Patient.implicitRules
Definition

A reference to a set of rules that were followed when the resource was constructed, and which must be understood when processing the content. Often, this is a reference to an implementation guide that defines the special rules along with other profiles etc.

ShortA set of rules under which this content was created
Comments

Asserting this rule set restricts the content to be only understood by a limited set of trading partners. This inherently limits the usefulness of the data in the long term. However, the existing health eco-system is highly fractured, and not yet ready to define, collect, and exchange data in a generally computable sense. Wherever possible, implementers and/or specification writers should avoid using this element. Often, when used, the URL is a reference to an implementation guide that defines these special rules as part of it's narrative along with other profiles, value sets, etc.

Control0..1
Typeuri
Is Modifiertrue because This element is labeled as a modifier because the implicit rules may provide additional knowledge about the resource that modifies it's meaning or interpretation
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summarytrue
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
4. Patient.extension:placeOfBirth
Slice NameplaceOfBirth
Definition

The registered place of birth of the patient.

ShortPlace of birth of patient
Control0..1
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeExtension(Place of Birth according to eCH-0011) (Extension Type: Address(Address for Place of Birth))
Is Modifierfalse
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
LOINC Code
6. Patient.extension:placeOfOrigin
Slice NameplaceOfOrigin
Definition

The registered place of origin of the patient.

ShortPlace of origin(s) of patient
Control0..*
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeExtension(Place of Origin according to eCH-0011) (Extension Type: Address)
Is Modifierfalse
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
LOINC Code
8. Patient.extension:citizenship
Slice Namecitizenship
Definition

The content of the country code element (if present) SHALL be selected EITHER from ValueSet ISO Country Alpha-2 http://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/iso3166-1-2 OR MAY be selected from ISO Country Alpha-3 Value Set http://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/iso3166-1-3, if the country is not specified in value Set ISO Country Alpha-2 http://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/iso3166-1-2.

ShortCitizenship(s) of patient
Control0..*
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeExtension(citizenship) (Complex Extension)
Is Modifierfalse
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
ch-pat-3: ISO Country Alpha-2 or ISO Country Alpha-3 code (((extension.where(url='code').value.coding.code.length()=2) and extension.where(url='code').value.coding.code.memberOf('http://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/iso3166-1-2')) or ((extension.where(url='code').value.coding.code.length() = 3) and extension.where(url='code').value.coding.code.memberOf('http://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/iso3166-1-3')))
LOINC Code
10. Patient.extension:religion
Slice Namereligion
Definition

The patient's professed religious affiliations.

ShortReligion of patient
Control0..1
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeExtension(religion) (Extension Type: CodeableConcept)
Is Modifierfalse
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
LOINC Code
12. Patient.modifierExtension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the resource and that modifies the understanding of the element that contains it and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer is allowed to define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

ShortExtensions that cannot be ignored
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifiertrue because Modifier extensions are expected to modify the meaning or interpretation of the resource that contains them
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

Alternate Namesextensions, user content
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
14. Patient.identifier
Definition

An identifier for this patient.

ShortAn identifier for this patient
NoteThis is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion)
Control10..*
TypeIdentifier
Is Modifierfalse
Summarytrue
Requirements

Patients are almost always assigned specific numerical identifiers.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
SlicingThis element introduces a set of slices on Patient.identifier. The slices are unordered and Open, and can be differentiated using the following discriminators:
  • pattern @ $this
16. Patient.identifier:EPR-SPID
Slice NameEPR-SPID
Definition

An identifier - identifies some entity uniquely and unambiguously. Typically this is used for business identifiers.


An identifier for this patient.

ShortAn identifier intended for computationAn identifier for this patient
NoteThis is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion)
Control0..0*
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeIdentifier(EPR-SPID Identifier)
Is Modifierfalse
Requirements

Patients are almost always assigned specific numerical identifiers.

Pattern Value&lt;valueIdentifier&nbsp;xmlns=&quot;http://hl7.org/fhir&quot;&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;system&nbsp;value=&quot;urn:oid:2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.3&quot;/&gt;<br/>&lt;/valueIdentifier&gt;<br/>
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
18. Patient.identifier:AHVN13
Slice NameAHVN13
Definition

An identifier - identifies some entity uniquely and unambiguously. Typically this is used for business identifiers.


An identifier for this patient.

ShortAn identifier intended for computationAn identifier for this patient
NoteThis is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion)
Control0..0*
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeIdentifier(AHVN13 / NAVS13 Identifier)
Is Modifierfalse
Requirements

Patients are almost always assigned specific numerical identifiers.

Pattern Value&lt;valueIdentifier&nbsp;xmlns=&quot;http://hl7.org/fhir&quot;&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;system&nbsp;value=&quot;urn:oid:2.16.756.5.32&quot;/&gt;<br/>&lt;/valueIdentifier&gt;<br/>
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
20. Patient.identifier:LocalPid
Slice NameLocalPid
Definition

An identifier for this patient.

ShortLocal patient identifier(s)An identifier for this patient
NoteThis is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion)
Control0..*
TypeIdentifier
Is Modifierfalse
Summarytrue
Requirements

Patients are almost always assigned specific numerical identifiers.

Pattern Value&lt;valueIdentifier&nbsp;xmlns=&quot;http://hl7.org/fhir&quot;&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;type&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;coding&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;system&nbsp;value=&quot;http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v2-0203&quot;/&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;code&nbsp;value=&quot;MR&quot;/&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;/coding&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;/type&gt;<br/>&lt;/valueIdentifier&gt;<br/>
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
22. Patient.identifier:insuranceCardNumber
Slice NameinsuranceCardNumber
Definition

Cardnumber Swiss insurance card v1


An identifier for this patient.

ShortInsurance card number of the patient (20 digits)An identifier for this patient
NoteThis is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion)
Control0..*
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeIdentifier(Insurance Card Number (Identifier))
Is Modifierfalse
Requirements

Patients are almost always assigned specific numerical identifiers.

Pattern Value&lt;valueIdentifier&nbsp;xmlns=&quot;http://hl7.org/fhir&quot;&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;system&nbsp;value=&quot;urn:oid:2.16.756.5.30.1.123.100.1.1.1&quot;/&gt;<br/>&lt;/valueIdentifier&gt;<br/>
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
24. Patient.active
Definition

Whether this patient record is in active use. Many systems use this property to mark as non-current patients, such as those that have not been seen for a period of time based on an organization's business rules.

It is often used to filter patient lists to exclude inactive patients

Deceased patients may also be marked as inactive for the same reasons, but may be active for some time after death.

ShortWhether this patient's record is in active use
Comments

If a record is inactive, and linked to an active record, then future patient/record updates should occur on the other patient.

Control0..1
Typeboolean
Is Modifiertrue because This element is labelled as a modifier because it is a status element that can indicate that a record should not be treated as valid
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summarytrue
Requirements

Need to be able to mark a patient record as not to be used because it was created in error.

Meaning if MissingThis resource is generally assumed to be active if no value is provided for the active element
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
26. Patient.name
Definition

A human's name with the ability to identify parts and usage.


A name associated with the individual.

ShortName of a human - parts and usageA name associated with the patient
Comments

Names may be changed, or repudiated, or people may have different names in different contexts. Names may be divided into parts of different type that have variable significance depending on context, though the division into parts does not always matter. With personal names, the different parts might or might not be imbued with some implicit meaning; various cultures associate different importance with the name parts and the degree to which systems must care about name parts around the world varies widely.


A patient may have multiple names with different uses or applicable periods. For animals, the name is a "HumanName" in the sense that is assigned and used by humans and has the same patterns.

Control10..*
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeHumanName(Human Name)
Is Modifierfalse
Requirements

Need to be able to track the patient by multiple names. Examples are your official name and a partner name.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ch-core-hm-1: if officalName with eCH-011 Extension is specified, it can only be put on a name where use attribute is official (family.extension.where(url='http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-core/StructureDefinition/ch-ext-ech-11-name' and value='officialName').empty() or (family.extension.where(url='http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-core/StructureDefinition/ch-ext-ech-11-name' and value='officialName').exists() and use='official'))
ch-core-hm-2: if orginalName with eCH-011 Extension is specified, it can only be put on a name where use attribute is maiden (family.extension.where(url='http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-core/StructureDefinition/ch-ext-ech-11-name' and value='originalName').empty() or ((family.extension.where(url='http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-core/StructureDefinition/ch-ext-ech-11-name' and value='originalName').exists() and use='maiden')))
ch-core-hm-3: ch-ext-ech-11-name can only be put on a family name (descendants().extension.where(url='http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-core/StructureDefinition/ch-ext-ech-11-name').count()=family.extension.where(url='http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-core/StructureDefinition/ch-ext-ech-11-name').count())
ch-core-hm-4: ch-ext-ech-11-firstname can only be put on a given name (descendants().extension.where(url='http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-core/StructureDefinition/ch-ext-ech-11-firstname').count()=given.extension.where(url='http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-core/StructureDefinition/ch-ext-ech-11-firstname').count())
28. Patient.telecom
Definition

A contact detail (e.g. a telephone number or an email address) by which the individual may be contacted.

ShortA contact detail for the individual
Comments

A Patient may have multiple ways to be contacted with different uses or applicable periods. May need to have options for contacting the person urgently and also to help with identification. The address might not go directly to the individual, but may reach another party that is able to proxy for the patient (i.e. home phone, or pet owner's phone).

Control0..*
TypeContactPoint
Is Modifierfalse
Summarytrue
Requirements

People have (primary) ways to contact them in some way such as phone, email.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
SlicingThis element introduces a set of slices on Patient.telecom. The slices are unordered and Open, and can be differentiated using the following discriminators:
  • value @ system
30. Patient.telecom.system
Definition

Telecommunications form for contact point - what communications system is required to make use of the contact.

Shortphone | fax | email | pager | url | sms | other
Control10..1
This element is affected by the following invariants: cpt-2
BindingThe codes SHALL be taken from ContactPointSystemhttp://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/contact-point-system|4.0.1

Telecommunications form for contact point.

Typecode
Is Modifierfalse
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summarytrue
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
32. Patient.telecom.value
Definition

The actual contact point details, in a form that is meaningful to the designated communication system (i.e. phone number or email address).

ShortThe actual contact point details
Comments

Additional text data such as phone extension numbers, or notes about use of the contact are sometimes included in the value.

Control10..1
Typestring
Is Modifierfalse
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summarytrue
Requirements

Need to support legacy numbers that are not in a tightly controlled format.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
34. Patient.telecom.use
Definition

Identifies the purpose for the contact point.

Shorthome | work | temp | old | mobile - purpose of this contact point
Comments

Applications can assume that a contact is current unless it explicitly says that it is temporary or old.

Control0..1
BindingThe codes SHALL be taken from ContactPointUsehttp://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/contact-point-use|4.0.1

Use of contact point.

Typecode
Is Modifiertrue because This is labeled as &quot;Is Modifier&quot; because applications should not mistake a temporary or old contact etc.for a current/permanent one
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summarytrue
Requirements

Need to track the way a person uses this contact, so a user can choose which is appropriate for their purpose.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
36. Patient.telecom:email
Slice Nameemail
Definition

Details for all kinds of technology mediated contact points for a person or organization, including telephone, email, etc.


A contact detail (e.g. a telephone number or an email address) by which the individual may be contacted.

ShortCH Core ContactPoint eCH-0046 EmailA contact detail for the individual
Comments

A Patient may have multiple ways to be contacted with different uses or applicable periods. May need to have options for contacting the person urgently and also to help with identification. The address might not go directly to the individual, but may reach another party that is able to proxy for the patient (i.e. home phone, or pet owner's phone).

Control0..*
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeContactPoint(CH Core ContactPoint eCH-0046 Email)
Is Modifierfalse
Requirements

People have (primary) ways to contact them in some way such as phone, email.

Invariantscpt-2: A system is required if a value is provided. (value.empty() or system.exists())
ele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
38. Patient.telecom:phone
Slice Namephone
Definition

Details for all kinds of technology mediated contact points for a person or organization, including telephone, email, etc.


A contact detail (e.g. a telephone number or an email address) by which the individual may be contacted.

ShortCH Core ContactPoint eCH-0046 PhoneA contact detail for the individual
Comments

A Patient may have multiple ways to be contacted with different uses or applicable periods. May need to have options for contacting the person urgently and also to help with identification. The address might not go directly to the individual, but may reach another party that is able to proxy for the patient (i.e. home phone, or pet owner's phone).

Control0..*
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeContactPoint(CH Core ContactPoint eCH-0046 Phone)
Is Modifierfalse
Requirements

People have (primary) ways to contact them in some way such as phone, email.

Invariantscpt-2: A system is required if a value is provided. (value.empty() or system.exists())
ele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
40. Patient.telecom:internet
Slice Nameinternet
Definition

Details for all kinds of technology mediated contact points for a person or organization, including telephone, email, etc.


A contact detail (e.g. a telephone number or an email address) by which the individual may be contacted.

ShortCH Core ContactPoint eCH-0046 InternetA contact detail for the individual
Comments

A Patient may have multiple ways to be contacted with different uses or applicable periods. May need to have options for contacting the person urgently and also to help with identification. The address might not go directly to the individual, but may reach another party that is able to proxy for the patient (i.e. home phone, or pet owner's phone).

Control0..*
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeContactPoint(CH Core ContactPoint eCH-0046 Internet)
Is Modifierfalse
Requirements

People have (primary) ways to contact them in some way such as phone, email.

Invariantscpt-2: A system is required if a value is provided. (value.empty() or system.exists())
ele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
42. Patient.gender
Definition

Administrative Gender - the gender that the patient is considered to have for administration and record keeping purposes.

Shortmale | female | othermale | female | other | unknown
Comments

The gender might not match the biological sex as determined by genetics or the individual's preferred identification. Note that for both humans and particularly animals, there are other legitimate possibilities than male and female, though the vast majority of systems and contexts only support male and female. Systems providing decision support or enforcing business rules should ideally do this on the basis of Observations dealing with the specific sex or gender aspect of interest (anatomical, chromosomal, social, etc.) However, because these observations are infrequently recorded, defaulting to the administrative gender is common practice. Where such defaulting occurs, rule enforcement should allow for the variation between administrative and biological, chromosomal and other gender aspects. For example, an alert about a hysterectomy on a male should be handled as a warning or overridable error, not a "hard" error. See the Patient Gender and Sex section for additional information about communicating patient gender and sex.

Control10..1
BindingThe codes SHALL be taken from AdministrativeGenderhttp://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/administrative-gender|4.0.1

The gender of a person used for administrative purposes.

Typecode
Is Modifierfalse
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summarytrue
Requirements

Needed for identification of the individual, in combination with (at least) name and birth date.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
44. Patient.birthDate
Definition

The date of birth for the individual.

ShortThe date of birth for the individual
Comments

At least an estimated year should be provided as a guess if the real DOB is unknown There is a standard extension "patient-birthTime" available that should be used where Time is required (such as in maternity/infant care systems).

Control10..1
Typedate
Is Modifierfalse
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summarytrue
Requirements

Age of the individual drives many clinical processes.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
LOINC Code21112-8
46. Patient.deceased[x]
Definition

Indicates if the individual is deceased or not.

ShortIndicates if the individual is deceased or not
Comments

If there's no value in the instance, it means there is no statement on whether or not the individual is deceased. Most systems will interpret the absence of a value as a sign of the person being alive.

Control0..1
TypeChoice of: boolean, dateTime
[x] NoteSee Choice of Data Types for further information about how to use [x]
Is Modifiertrue because This element is labeled as a modifier because once a patient is marked as deceased, the actions that are appropriate to perform on the patient may be significantly different.
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summarytrue
Requirements

The fact that a patient is deceased influences the clinical process. Also, in human communication and relation management it is necessary to know whether the person is alive.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
48. Patient.contact
Definition

A contact party (e.g. guardian, partner, friend) for the patient.

ShortA contact party (e.g. guardian, partner, friend) for the patient
Comments

Contact covers all kinds of contact parties: family members, business contacts, guardians, caregivers. Not applicable to register pedigree and family ties beyond use of having contact.

Control0..*
TypeBackboneElement
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Need to track people you can contact about the patient.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
pat-1: SHALL at least contain a contact's details or a reference to an organization (name.exists() or telecom.exists() or address.exists() or organization.exists())
pat-1: SHALL at least contain a contact's details or a reference to an organization (name.exists() or telecom.exists() or address.exists() or organization.exists())
SlicingThis element introduces a set of slices on Patient.contact. The slices are unordered and Open, and can be differentiated using the following discriminators:
  • value @ relationship
50. Patient.contact.modifierExtension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element and that modifies the understanding of the element in which it is contained and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

ShortExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognized
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifiertrue because Modifier extensions are expected to modify the meaning or interpretation of the element that contains them
Summarytrue
Requirements

Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

Alternate Namesextensions, user content, modifiers
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
52. Patient.contact:contact
Slice Namecontact
Definition

A contact party (e.g. guardian, partner, friend) for the patient.

ShortContact data if it is not address of patientA contact party (e.g. guardian, partner, friend) for the patient
Comments

Contact covers all kinds of contact parties: family members, business contacts, guardians, caregivers. Not applicable to register pedigree and family ties beyond use of having contact.

Control0..1*
TypeBackboneElement
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Need to track people you can contact about the patient.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
pat-1: SHALL at least contain a contact's details or a reference to an organization (name.exists() or telecom.exists() or address.exists() or organization.exists())
pat-1: SHALL at least contain a contact's details or a reference to an organization (name.exists() or telecom.exists() or address.exists() or organization.exists())
54. Patient.contact:contact.modifierExtension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element and that modifies the understanding of the element in which it is contained and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

ShortExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognized
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifiertrue because Modifier extensions are expected to modify the meaning or interpretation of the element that contains them
Summarytrue
Requirements

Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

Alternate Namesextensions, user content, modifiers
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
56. Patient.contact:contact.relationship
Definition

The nature of the relationship between the patient and the contact person.

ShortThe kind of relationship
Control10..1*
BindingUnless not suitable, these codes SHALL be taken from PatientContactRelationshiphttp://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/patient-contactrelationship

The nature of the relationship between a patient and a contact person for that patient.

TypeCodeableConcept
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Used to determine which contact person is the most relevant to approach, depending on circumstances.

Pattern Value&lt;valueCodeableConcept&nbsp;xmlns=&quot;http://hl7.org/fhir&quot;&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;coding&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;system&nbsp;value=&quot;http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-core/CodeSystem/ech-11&quot;/&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;code&nbsp;value=&quot;contactData&quot;/&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;/coding&gt;<br/>&lt;/valueCodeableConcept&gt;<br/>
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
58. Patient.contact:contact.telecom
Definition

A contact detail for the person, e.g. a telephone number or an email address.

ShortA contact detail for the person
Comments

Contact may have multiple ways to be contacted with different uses or applicable periods. May need to have options for contacting the person urgently, and also to help with identification.

Control0..0*
TypeContactPoint
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

People have (primary) ways to contact them in some way such as phone, email.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
60. Patient.contact:contact.address
Definition

An address expressed using postal conventions (as opposed to GPS or other location definition formats). This data type may be used to convey addresses for use in delivering mail as well as for visiting locations which might not be valid for mail delivery. There are a variety of postal address formats defined around the world.


Address for the contact person.

ShortAn address expressed using postal conventions (as opposed to GPS or other location definition formats)Address for the contact person
Comments

Note: address is intended to describe postal addresses for administrative purposes, not to describe absolute geographical coordinates. Postal addresses are often used as proxies for physical locations (also see the Location resource).

Control10..1
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeAddress(CH Core Postal Address)
Is Modifierfalse
Requirements

Need to keep track where the contact person can be contacted per postal mail or visited.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ch-addr-2: For a Swiss address, a canton abbreviation from the value set 'eCH-0007 Canton Abbreviation' must be used. (country.extension.where(url = 'http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/iso21090-SC-coding').empty() or (country.extension.where(url = 'http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/iso21090-SC-coding').value.code.startsWith('CH') = false) or (country.extension.where(url = 'http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/iso21090-SC-coding').value.code.startsWith('CH').exists() and (state.empty() or state.memberOf('http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-core/ValueSet/ech-7-cantonabbreviation'))))
62. Patient.contact:nameOfParent
Slice NamenameOfParent
Definition

A contact party (e.g. guardian, partner, friend) for the patient.

ShortName of parentA contact party (e.g. guardian, partner, friend) for the patient
Comments

Contact covers all kinds of contact parties: family members, business contacts, guardians, caregivers. Not applicable to register pedigree and family ties beyond use of having contact.

Control0..*
TypeBackboneElement
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Need to track people you can contact about the patient.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
pat-1: SHALL at least contain a contact's details or a reference to an organization (name.exists() or telecom.exists() or address.exists() or organization.exists())
pat-1: SHALL at least contain a contact's details or a reference to an organization (name.exists() or telecom.exists() or address.exists() or organization.exists())
64. Patient.contact:nameOfParent.modifierExtension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element and that modifies the understanding of the element in which it is contained and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

ShortExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognized
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifiertrue because Modifier extensions are expected to modify the meaning or interpretation of the element that contains them
Summarytrue
Requirements

Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

Alternate Namesextensions, user content, modifiers
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
66. Patient.contact:nameOfParent.relationship
Definition

The nature of the relationship between the patient and the contact person.

ShortThe kind of relationship
Control10..1*
BindingUnless not suitable, these codes SHALL be taken from PatientContactRelationshiphttp://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/patient-contactrelationship

The nature of the relationship between a patient and a contact person for that patient.

TypeCodeableConcept
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Used to determine which contact person is the most relevant to approach, depending on circumstances.

Pattern Value&lt;valueCodeableConcept&nbsp;xmlns=&quot;http://hl7.org/fhir&quot;&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;coding&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;system&nbsp;value=&quot;http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v3-RoleCode&quot;/&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;code&nbsp;value=&quot;PRN&quot;/&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;/coding&gt;<br/>&lt;/valueCodeableConcept&gt;<br/>
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
68. Patient.contact:nameOfParent.name
Definition

A name associated with the contact person.

ShortA name associated with the contact person
Control10..1
TypeHumanName
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Contact persons need to be identified by name, but it is uncommon to need details about multiple other names for that contact person.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
70. Patient.communication
Definition

A language which may be used to communicate with the patient about his or her health.

ShortA language which may be used to communicate with the patient about his or her health
Comments

If no language is specified, this implies that the default local language is spoken. If you need to convey proficiency for multiple modes, then you need multiple Patient.Communication associations. For animals, language is not a relevant field, and should be absent from the instance. If the Patient does not speak the default local language, then the Interpreter Required Standard can be used to explicitly declare that an interpreter is required.

Control0..*
TypeBackboneElement
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

If a patient does not speak the local language, interpreters may be required, so languages spoken and proficiency are important things to keep track of both for patient and other persons of interest.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
SlicingThis element introduces a set of slices on Patient.communication. The slices are unordered and Open, and can be differentiated using the following discriminators:
  • value @ preferred
72. Patient.communication.modifierExtension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element and that modifies the understanding of the element in which it is contained and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

ShortExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognized
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifiertrue because Modifier extensions are expected to modify the meaning or interpretation of the element that contains them
Summarytrue
Requirements

Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

Alternate Namesextensions, user content, modifiers
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
74. Patient.communication.language
Definition

The ISO-639-1 alpha 2 code in lower case for the language, optionally followed by a hyphen and the ISO-3166-1 alpha 2 code for the region in upper case; e.g. "en" for English, or "en-US" for American English versus "en-EN" for England English.

ShortThe language which can be used to communicate with the patient about his or her health
Comments

The structure aa-BB with this exact casing is one the most widely used notations for locale. However not all systems actually code this but instead have it as free text. Hence CodeableConcept instead of code as the data type.

Control1..1
BindingThe codes SHOULD be taken from CommonLanguageshttp://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/languages

A human language.

Additional BindingsPurpose
AllLanguagesMax Binding
TypeCodeableConcept
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Most systems in multilingual countries will want to convey language. Not all systems actually need the regional dialect.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
76. Patient.communication:languageOfCorrespondence
Slice NamelanguageOfCorrespondence
Definition

A language which may be used to communicate with the patient about his or her health.

ShortLanguage of correspondenceA language which may be used to communicate with the patient about his or her health
Comments

If no language is specified, this implies that the default local language is spoken. If you need to convey proficiency for multiple modes, then you need multiple Patient.Communication associations. For animals, language is not a relevant field, and should be absent from the instance. If the Patient does not speak the default local language, then the Interpreter Required Standard can be used to explicitly declare that an interpreter is required.

Control0..1*
TypeBackboneElement
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

If a patient does not speak the local language, interpreters may be required, so languages spoken and proficiency are important things to keep track of both for patient and other persons of interest.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
78. Patient.communication:languageOfCorrespondence.modifierExtension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element and that modifies the understanding of the element in which it is contained and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

ShortExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognized
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifiertrue because Modifier extensions are expected to modify the meaning or interpretation of the element that contains them
Summarytrue
Requirements

Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

Alternate Namesextensions, user content, modifiers
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
80. Patient.communication:languageOfCorrespondence.language
Definition

The ISO-639-1 alpha 2 code in lower case for the language, optionally followed by a hyphen and the ISO-3166-1 alpha 2 code for the region in upper case; e.g. "en" for English, or "en-US" for American English versus "en-EN" for England English.

ShortThe language which can be used to communicate with the patient about his or her health
Comments

The structure aa-BB with this exact casing is one the most widely used notations for locale. However not all systems actually code this but instead have it as free text. Hence CodeableConcept instead of code as the data type.

Control1..1
BindingThe codes SHOULD be taken from CommonLanguageshttp://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/languages

A human language.

Additional BindingsPurpose
AllLanguagesMax Binding
TypeCodeableConcept
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Most systems in multilingual countries will want to convey language. Not all systems actually need the regional dialect.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
82. Patient.communication:languageOfCorrespondence.preferred
Definition

Indicates whether or not the patient prefers this language (over other languages he masters up a certain level).

ShortLanguage preference indicator
Comments

This language is specifically identified for communicating healthcare information.

Control10..1
Typeboolean
Is Modifierfalse
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summaryfalse
Requirements

People that master multiple languages up to certain level may prefer one or more, i.e. feel more confident in communicating in a particular language making other languages sort of a fall back method.

Fixed Valuetrue
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
84. Patient.link
Definition

Link to another patient resource that concerns the same actual patient.

ShortLink to another patient resource that concerns the same actual person
Comments

There is no assumption that linked patient records have mutual links.

Control0..*
TypeBackboneElement
Is Modifiertrue because This element is labeled as a modifier because it might not be the main Patient resource, and the referenced patient should be used instead of this Patient record. This is when the link.type value is 'replaced-by'
Summarytrue
Requirements

There are multiple use cases:

  • Duplicate patient records due to the clerical errors associated with the difficulties of identifying humans consistently, and
  • Distribution of patient information across multiple servers.
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
86. Patient.link.modifierExtension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element and that modifies the understanding of the element in which it is contained and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

ShortExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognized
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifiertrue because Modifier extensions are expected to modify the meaning or interpretation of the element that contains them
Summarytrue
Requirements

Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

Alternate Namesextensions, user content, modifiers
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
88. Patient.link.other
Definition

The other patient resource that the link refers to.

ShortThe other patient or related person resource that the link refers to
Comments

Referencing a RelatedPerson here removes the need to use a Person record to associate a Patient and RelatedPerson as the same individual.

Control1..1
TypeReference(Patient, RelatedPerson)
Is Modifierfalse
Summarytrue
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
90. Patient.link.type
Definition

The type of link between this patient resource and another patient resource.

Shortreplaced-by | replaces | refer | seealso
Control1..1
BindingThe codes SHALL be taken from LinkTypehttp://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/link-type|4.0.1

The type of link between this patient resource and another patient resource.

Typecode
Is Modifierfalse
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summarytrue
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))

Guidance on how to interpret the contents of this table can be found here

0. Patient
Definition

The CH Core Patient is based upon the core FHIR Patient Resource and designed to meet the applicable patient demographic data elements in Switzerland. See also https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/register/personenregister/registerharmonisierung/nomenklaturen.html for further information

ShortCH Core Patient EPR (to include the patient in an EPR document)
Control0..*
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Alternate NamesSubjectOfCare Client Resident
Invariantsdom-2: If the resource is contained in another resource, it SHALL NOT contain nested Resources (contained.contained.empty())
dom-3: If the resource is contained in another resource, it SHALL be referred to from elsewhere in the resource or SHALL refer to the containing resource (contained.where((('#'+id in (%resource.descendants().reference | %resource.descendants().as(canonical) | %resource.descendants().as(uri) | %resource.descendants().as(url))) or descendants().where(reference = '#').exists() or descendants().where(as(canonical) = '#').exists() or descendants().where(as(canonical) = '#').exists()).not()).trace('unmatched', id).empty())
dom-4: If a resource is contained in another resource, it SHALL NOT have a meta.versionId or a meta.lastUpdated (contained.meta.versionId.empty() and contained.meta.lastUpdated.empty())
dom-5: If a resource is contained in another resource, it SHALL NOT have a security label (contained.meta.security.empty())
dom-6: A resource should have narrative for robust management (text.`div`.exists())
ch-pat-1: At least one HumanName with given and family name must be provided. (name.where(family.exists() and given.exists()).count()>0 or name.empty())
ch-pat-2: gender unknown is currently not used in Switzerland in eCH and the EPR (gender.empty() or gender!='unknown')
2. Patient.id
Definition

The logical id of the resource, as used in the URL for the resource. Once assigned, this value never changes.

ShortLogical id of this artifact
Comments

The only time that a resource does not have an id is when it is being submitted to the server using a create operation.

Control0..1
Typeid
Is Modifierfalse
Summarytrue
4. Patient.meta
Definition

The metadata about the resource. This is content that is maintained by the infrastructure. Changes to the content might not always be associated with version changes to the resource.

ShortMetadata about the resource
Control0..1
TypeMeta
Is Modifierfalse
Summarytrue
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
6. Patient.implicitRules
Definition

A reference to a set of rules that were followed when the resource was constructed, and which must be understood when processing the content. Often, this is a reference to an implementation guide that defines the special rules along with other profiles etc.

ShortA set of rules under which this content was created
Comments

Asserting this rule set restricts the content to be only understood by a limited set of trading partners. This inherently limits the usefulness of the data in the long term. However, the existing health eco-system is highly fractured, and not yet ready to define, collect, and exchange data in a generally computable sense. Wherever possible, implementers and/or specification writers should avoid using this element. Often, when used, the URL is a reference to an implementation guide that defines these special rules as part of it's narrative along with other profiles, value sets, etc.

Control0..1
Typeuri
Is Modifiertrue because This element is labeled as a modifier because the implicit rules may provide additional knowledge about the resource that modifies it's meaning or interpretation
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summarytrue
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
8. Patient.language
Definition

The base language in which the resource is written.

ShortLanguage of the resource content
Comments

Language is provided to support indexing and accessibility (typically, services such as text to speech use the language tag). The html language tag in the narrative applies to the narrative. The language tag on the resource may be used to specify the language of other presentations generated from the data in the resource. Not all the content has to be in the base language. The Resource.language should not be assumed to apply to the narrative automatically. If a language is specified, it should it also be specified on the div element in the html (see rules in HTML5 for information about the relationship between xml:lang and the html lang attribute).

Control0..1
BindingThe codes SHOULD be taken from CommonLanguages

A human language.

Additional BindingsPurpose
AllLanguagesMax Binding
Typecode
Is Modifierfalse
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summaryfalse
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
10. Patient.text
Definition

A human-readable narrative that contains a summary of the resource and can be used to represent the content of the resource to a human. The narrative need not encode all the structured data, but is required to contain sufficient detail to make it "clinically safe" for a human to just read the narrative. Resource definitions may define what content should be represented in the narrative to ensure clinical safety.

ShortText summary of the resource, for human interpretation
Comments

Contained resources do not have narrative. Resources that are not contained SHOULD have a narrative. In some cases, a resource may only have text with little or no additional discrete data (as long as all minOccurs=1 elements are satisfied). This may be necessary for data from legacy systems where information is captured as a "text blob" or where text is additionally entered raw or narrated and encoded information is added later.

Control0..1
TypeNarrative
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Alternate Namesnarrative, html, xhtml, display
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
12. Patient.contained
Definition

These resources do not have an independent existence apart from the resource that contains them - they cannot be identified independently, and nor can they have their own independent transaction scope.

ShortContained, inline Resources
Comments

This should never be done when the content can be identified properly, as once identification is lost, it is extremely difficult (and context dependent) to restore it again. Contained resources may have profiles and tags In their meta elements, but SHALL NOT have security labels.

Control0..*
TypeResource
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Alternate Namesinline resources, anonymous resources, contained resources
14. Patient.extension
Definition

An Extension

ShortExtension
Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
SlicingThis element introduces a set of slices on Patient.extension. The slices are unordered and Open, and can be differentiated using the following discriminators:
  • value @ url
16. Patient.extension:placeOfBirth
Slice NameplaceOfBirth
Definition

The registered place of birth of the patient.

ShortPlace of birth of patient
Control0..1
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeExtension(Place of Birth according to eCH-0011) (Extension Type: Address(Address for Place of Birth))
Is Modifierfalse
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
18. Patient.extension:placeOfOrigin
Slice NameplaceOfOrigin
Definition

The registered place of origin of the patient.

ShortPlace of origin(s) of patient
Control0..*
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeExtension(Place of Origin according to eCH-0011) (Extension Type: Address)
Is Modifierfalse
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
20. Patient.extension:citizenship
Slice Namecitizenship
Definition

The content of the country code element (if present) SHALL be selected EITHER from ValueSet ISO Country Alpha-2 http://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/iso3166-1-2 OR MAY be selected from ISO Country Alpha-3 Value Set http://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/iso3166-1-3, if the country is not specified in value Set ISO Country Alpha-2 http://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/iso3166-1-2.

ShortCitizenship(s) of patient
Control0..*
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeExtension(citizenship) (Complex Extension)
Is Modifierfalse
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
ch-pat-3: ISO Country Alpha-2 or ISO Country Alpha-3 code (((extension.where(url='code').value.coding.code.length()=2) and extension.where(url='code').value.coding.code.memberOf('http://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/iso3166-1-2')) or ((extension.where(url='code').value.coding.code.length() = 3) and extension.where(url='code').value.coding.code.memberOf('http://hl7.org/fhir/ValueSet/iso3166-1-3')))
22. Patient.extension:religion
Slice Namereligion
Definition

The patient's professed religious affiliations.

ShortReligion of patient
Control0..1
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeExtension(religion) (Extension Type: CodeableConcept)
Is Modifierfalse
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
24. Patient.modifierExtension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the resource and that modifies the understanding of the element that contains it and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer is allowed to define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

ShortExtensions that cannot be ignored
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifiertrue because Modifier extensions are expected to modify the meaning or interpretation of the resource that contains them
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

Alternate Namesextensions, user content
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
26. Patient.identifier
Definition

An identifier for this patient.

ShortAn identifier for this patient
NoteThis is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion)
Control1..*
TypeIdentifier
Is Modifierfalse
Summarytrue
Requirements

Patients are almost always assigned specific numerical identifiers.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
SlicingThis element introduces a set of slices on Patient.identifier. The slices are unordered and Open, and can be differentiated using the following discriminators:
  • pattern @ $this
28. Patient.identifier:EPR-SPID
Slice NameEPR-SPID
Definition

An identifier - identifies some entity uniquely and unambiguously. Typically this is used for business identifiers.

ShortAn identifier intended for computation
NoteThis is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion)
Control0..0
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeIdentifier(EPR-SPID Identifier)
Is Modifierfalse
Requirements

Patients are almost always assigned specific numerical identifiers.

Pattern Value&lt;valueIdentifier&nbsp;xmlns=&quot;http://hl7.org/fhir&quot;&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;system&nbsp;value=&quot;urn:oid:2.16.756.5.30.1.127.3.10.3&quot;/&gt;<br/>&lt;/valueIdentifier&gt;<br/>
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
30. Patient.identifier:AHVN13
Slice NameAHVN13
Definition

An identifier - identifies some entity uniquely and unambiguously. Typically this is used for business identifiers.

ShortAn identifier intended for computation
NoteThis is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion)
Control0..0
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeIdentifier(AHVN13 / NAVS13 Identifier)
Is Modifierfalse
Requirements

Patients are almost always assigned specific numerical identifiers.

Pattern Value&lt;valueIdentifier&nbsp;xmlns=&quot;http://hl7.org/fhir&quot;&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;system&nbsp;value=&quot;urn:oid:2.16.756.5.32&quot;/&gt;<br/>&lt;/valueIdentifier&gt;<br/>
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
32. Patient.identifier:LocalPid
Slice NameLocalPid
Definition

An identifier for this patient.

ShortLocal patient identifier(s)
NoteThis is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion)
Control0..*
TypeIdentifier
Is Modifierfalse
Summarytrue
Requirements

Patients are almost always assigned specific numerical identifiers.

Pattern Value&lt;valueIdentifier&nbsp;xmlns=&quot;http://hl7.org/fhir&quot;&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;type&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;coding&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;system&nbsp;value=&quot;http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v2-0203&quot;/&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;code&nbsp;value=&quot;MR&quot;/&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;/coding&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;/type&gt;<br/>&lt;/valueIdentifier&gt;<br/>
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
34. Patient.identifier:insuranceCardNumber
Slice NameinsuranceCardNumber
Definition

Cardnumber Swiss insurance card v1

ShortInsurance card number of the patient (20 digits)
NoteThis is a business identifier, not a resource identifier (see discussion)
Control0..*
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeIdentifier(Insurance Card Number (Identifier))
Is Modifierfalse
Requirements

Patients are almost always assigned specific numerical identifiers.

Pattern Value&lt;valueIdentifier&nbsp;xmlns=&quot;http://hl7.org/fhir&quot;&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;system&nbsp;value=&quot;urn:oid:2.16.756.5.30.1.123.100.1.1.1&quot;/&gt;<br/>&lt;/valueIdentifier&gt;<br/>
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
36. Patient.active
Definition

Whether this patient record is in active use. Many systems use this property to mark as non-current patients, such as those that have not been seen for a period of time based on an organization's business rules.

It is often used to filter patient lists to exclude inactive patients

Deceased patients may also be marked as inactive for the same reasons, but may be active for some time after death.

ShortWhether this patient's record is in active use
Comments

If a record is inactive, and linked to an active record, then future patient/record updates should occur on the other patient.

Control0..1
Typeboolean
Is Modifiertrue because This element is labelled as a modifier because it is a status element that can indicate that a record should not be treated as valid
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summarytrue
Requirements

Need to be able to mark a patient record as not to be used because it was created in error.

Meaning if MissingThis resource is generally assumed to be active if no value is provided for the active element
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
38. Patient.name
Definition

A human's name with the ability to identify parts and usage.

ShortName of a human - parts and usage
Comments

Names may be changed, or repudiated, or people may have different names in different contexts. Names may be divided into parts of different type that have variable significance depending on context, though the division into parts does not always matter. With personal names, the different parts might or might not be imbued with some implicit meaning; various cultures associate different importance with the name parts and the degree to which systems must care about name parts around the world varies widely.

Control1..*
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeHumanName(Human Name)
Is Modifierfalse
Requirements

Need to be able to track the patient by multiple names. Examples are your official name and a partner name.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ch-core-hm-1: if officalName with eCH-011 Extension is specified, it can only be put on a name where use attribute is official (family.extension.where(url='http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-core/StructureDefinition/ch-ext-ech-11-name' and value='officialName').empty() or (family.extension.where(url='http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-core/StructureDefinition/ch-ext-ech-11-name' and value='officialName').exists() and use='official'))
ch-core-hm-2: if orginalName with eCH-011 Extension is specified, it can only be put on a name where use attribute is maiden (family.extension.where(url='http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-core/StructureDefinition/ch-ext-ech-11-name' and value='originalName').empty() or ((family.extension.where(url='http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-core/StructureDefinition/ch-ext-ech-11-name' and value='originalName').exists() and use='maiden')))
ch-core-hm-3: ch-ext-ech-11-name can only be put on a family name (descendants().extension.where(url='http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-core/StructureDefinition/ch-ext-ech-11-name').count()=family.extension.where(url='http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-core/StructureDefinition/ch-ext-ech-11-name').count())
ch-core-hm-4: ch-ext-ech-11-firstname can only be put on a given name (descendants().extension.where(url='http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-core/StructureDefinition/ch-ext-ech-11-firstname').count()=given.extension.where(url='http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-core/StructureDefinition/ch-ext-ech-11-firstname').count())
40. Patient.telecom
Definition

A contact detail (e.g. a telephone number or an email address) by which the individual may be contacted.

ShortA contact detail for the individual
Comments

A Patient may have multiple ways to be contacted with different uses or applicable periods. May need to have options for contacting the person urgently and also to help with identification. The address might not go directly to the individual, but may reach another party that is able to proxy for the patient (i.e. home phone, or pet owner's phone).

Control0..*
TypeContactPoint
Is Modifierfalse
Summarytrue
Requirements

People have (primary) ways to contact them in some way such as phone, email.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
SlicingThis element introduces a set of slices on Patient.telecom. The slices are unordered and Open, and can be differentiated using the following discriminators:
  • value @ system
42. Patient.telecom.id
Definition

Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

ShortUnique id for inter-element referencing
Control0..1
Typestring
Is Modifierfalse
XML FormatIn the XML format, this property is represented as an attribute.
Summaryfalse
44. Patient.telecom.extension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

ShortAdditional content defined by implementations
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Alternate Namesextensions, user content
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
SlicingThis element introduces a set of slices on Patient.telecom.extension. The slices are unordered and Open, and can be differentiated using the following discriminators:
  • value @ url
46. Patient.telecom.system
Definition

Telecommunications form for contact point - what communications system is required to make use of the contact.

Shortphone | fax | email | pager | url | sms | other
Control1..1
This element is affected by the following invariants: cpt-2
BindingThe codes SHALL be taken from ContactPointSystem

Telecommunications form for contact point.

Typecode
Is Modifierfalse
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summarytrue
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
48. Patient.telecom.value
Definition

The actual contact point details, in a form that is meaningful to the designated communication system (i.e. phone number or email address).

ShortThe actual contact point details
Comments

Additional text data such as phone extension numbers, or notes about use of the contact are sometimes included in the value.

Control1..1
Typestring
Is Modifierfalse
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summarytrue
Requirements

Need to support legacy numbers that are not in a tightly controlled format.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
50. Patient.telecom.use
Definition

Identifies the purpose for the contact point.

Shorthome | work | temp | old | mobile - purpose of this contact point
Comments

Applications can assume that a contact is current unless it explicitly says that it is temporary or old.

Control0..1
BindingThe codes SHALL be taken from ContactPointUse

Use of contact point.

Typecode
Is Modifiertrue because This is labeled as &quot;Is Modifier&quot; because applications should not mistake a temporary or old contact etc.for a current/permanent one
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summarytrue
Requirements

Need to track the way a person uses this contact, so a user can choose which is appropriate for their purpose.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
52. Patient.telecom.rank
Definition

Specifies a preferred order in which to use a set of contacts. ContactPoints with lower rank values are more preferred than those with higher rank values.

ShortSpecify preferred order of use (1 = highest)
Comments

Note that rank does not necessarily follow the order in which the contacts are represented in the instance.

Control0..1
TypepositiveInt
Is Modifierfalse
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summarytrue
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
54. Patient.telecom.period
Definition

Time period when the contact point was/is in use.

ShortTime period when the contact point was/is in use
Control0..1
TypePeriod
Is Modifierfalse
Summarytrue
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
56. Patient.telecom:email
Slice Nameemail
Definition

Details for all kinds of technology mediated contact points for a person or organization, including telephone, email, etc.

ShortCH Core ContactPoint eCH-0046 Email
Comments

A Patient may have multiple ways to be contacted with different uses or applicable periods. May need to have options for contacting the person urgently and also to help with identification. The address might not go directly to the individual, but may reach another party that is able to proxy for the patient (i.e. home phone, or pet owner's phone).

Control0..*
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeContactPoint(CH Core ContactPoint eCH-0046 Email)
Is Modifierfalse
Requirements

People have (primary) ways to contact them in some way such as phone, email.

Invariantscpt-2: A system is required if a value is provided. (value.empty() or system.exists())
ele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
58. Patient.telecom:phone
Slice Namephone
Definition

Details for all kinds of technology mediated contact points for a person or organization, including telephone, email, etc.

ShortCH Core ContactPoint eCH-0046 Phone
Comments

A Patient may have multiple ways to be contacted with different uses or applicable periods. May need to have options for contacting the person urgently and also to help with identification. The address might not go directly to the individual, but may reach another party that is able to proxy for the patient (i.e. home phone, or pet owner's phone).

Control0..*
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeContactPoint(CH Core ContactPoint eCH-0046 Phone)
Is Modifierfalse
Requirements

People have (primary) ways to contact them in some way such as phone, email.

Invariantscpt-2: A system is required if a value is provided. (value.empty() or system.exists())
ele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
60. Patient.telecom:internet
Slice Nameinternet
Definition

Details for all kinds of technology mediated contact points for a person or organization, including telephone, email, etc.

ShortCH Core ContactPoint eCH-0046 Internet
Comments

A Patient may have multiple ways to be contacted with different uses or applicable periods. May need to have options for contacting the person urgently and also to help with identification. The address might not go directly to the individual, but may reach another party that is able to proxy for the patient (i.e. home phone, or pet owner's phone).

Control0..*
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeContactPoint(CH Core ContactPoint eCH-0046 Internet)
Is Modifierfalse
Requirements

People have (primary) ways to contact them in some way such as phone, email.

Invariantscpt-2: A system is required if a value is provided. (value.empty() or system.exists())
ele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
62. Patient.gender
Definition

Administrative Gender - the gender that the patient is considered to have for administration and record keeping purposes.

Shortmale | female | other
Comments

The gender might not match the biological sex as determined by genetics or the individual's preferred identification. Note that for both humans and particularly animals, there are other legitimate possibilities than male and female, though the vast majority of systems and contexts only support male and female. Systems providing decision support or enforcing business rules should ideally do this on the basis of Observations dealing with the specific sex or gender aspect of interest (anatomical, chromosomal, social, etc.) However, because these observations are infrequently recorded, defaulting to the administrative gender is common practice. Where such defaulting occurs, rule enforcement should allow for the variation between administrative and biological, chromosomal and other gender aspects. For example, an alert about a hysterectomy on a male should be handled as a warning or overridable error, not a "hard" error. See the Patient Gender and Sex section for additional information about communicating patient gender and sex.

Control1..1
BindingThe codes SHALL be taken from AdministrativeGender

The gender of a person used for administrative purposes.

Typecode
Is Modifierfalse
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summarytrue
Requirements

Needed for identification of the individual, in combination with (at least) name and birth date.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
64. Patient.birthDate
Definition

The date of birth for the individual.

ShortThe date of birth for the individual
Comments

At least an estimated year should be provided as a guess if the real DOB is unknown There is a standard extension "patient-birthTime" available that should be used where Time is required (such as in maternity/infant care systems).

Control1..1
Typedate
Is Modifierfalse
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summarytrue
Requirements

Age of the individual drives many clinical processes.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
LOINC Code21112-8
66. Patient.deceased[x]
Definition

Indicates if the individual is deceased or not.

ShortIndicates if the individual is deceased or not
Comments

If there's no value in the instance, it means there is no statement on whether or not the individual is deceased. Most systems will interpret the absence of a value as a sign of the person being alive.

Control0..1
TypeChoice of: boolean, dateTime
[x] NoteSee Choice of Data Types for further information about how to use [x]
Is Modifiertrue because This element is labeled as a modifier because once a patient is marked as deceased, the actions that are appropriate to perform on the patient may be significantly different.
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summarytrue
Requirements

The fact that a patient is deceased influences the clinical process. Also, in human communication and relation management it is necessary to know whether the person is alive.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
68. Patient.address
Definition

An address expressed using postal conventions (as opposed to GPS or other location definition formats). This data type may be used to convey addresses for use in delivering mail as well as for visiting locations which might not be valid for mail delivery. There are a variety of postal address formats defined around the world.

ShortAn address expressed using postal conventions (as opposed to GPS or other location definition formats)
Comments

Note: address is intended to describe postal addresses for administrative purposes, not to describe absolute geographical coordinates. Postal addresses are often used as proxies for physical locations (also see the Location resource).

Control0..*
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeAddress(CH Core Address)
Is Modifierfalse
Requirements

May need to keep track of patient addresses for contacting, billing or reporting requirements and also to help with identification.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ch-addr-2: For a Swiss address, a canton abbreviation from the value set 'eCH-0007 Canton Abbreviation' must be used. (country.extension.where(url = 'http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/iso21090-SC-coding').empty() or (country.extension.where(url = 'http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/iso21090-SC-coding').value.code.startsWith('CH') = false) or (country.extension.where(url = 'http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/iso21090-SC-coding').value.code.startsWith('CH').exists() and (state.empty() or state.memberOf('http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-core/ValueSet/ech-7-cantonabbreviation'))))
70. Patient.maritalStatus
Definition

This field contains a patient's most recent marital (civil) status.

ShortMarital (civil) status of a patient
Control0..1
BindingUnless not suitable, these codes SHALL be taken from ChCoreMaritalStatus
TypeCodeableConcept
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Most, if not all systems capture it.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
72. Patient.maritalStatus.id
Definition

Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

ShortUnique id for inter-element referencing
Control0..1
Typestring
Is Modifierfalse
XML FormatIn the XML format, this property is represented as an attribute.
Summaryfalse
74. Patient.maritalStatus.extension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

ShortAdditional content defined by implementations
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Alternate Namesextensions, user content
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
SlicingThis element introduces a set of slices on Patient.maritalStatus.extension. The slices are unordered and Open, and can be differentiated using the following discriminators:
  • value @ url
76. Patient.maritalStatus.extension:maritalDataSeparation
Slice NamemaritalDataSeparation
Definition

Extension for eCH-0011 - MaritalData - separation

ShortMaritalData Separation
Control0..1
TypeExtension(Marital Data - Separation Type) (Extension Type: CodeableConcept)
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
78. Patient.maritalStatus.coding
Definition

A reference to a code defined by a terminology system.

ShortCode defined by a terminology system
Comments

Codes may be defined very casually in enumerations, or code lists, up to very formal definitions such as SNOMED CT - see the HL7 v3 Core Principles for more information. Ordering of codings is undefined and SHALL NOT be used to infer meaning. Generally, at most only one of the coding values will be labeled as UserSelected = true.

Control0..*
TypeCoding
Is Modifierfalse
Summarytrue
Requirements

Allows for alternative encodings within a code system, and translations to other code systems.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
80. Patient.maritalStatus.text
Definition

A human language representation of the concept as seen/selected/uttered by the user who entered the data and/or which represents the intended meaning of the user.

ShortPlain text representation of the concept
Comments

Very often the text is the same as a displayName of one of the codings.

Control0..1
Typestring
Is Modifierfalse
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summarytrue
Requirements

The codes from the terminologies do not always capture the correct meaning with all the nuances of the human using them, or sometimes there is no appropriate code at all. In these cases, the text is used to capture the full meaning of the source.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
82. Patient.multipleBirth[x]
Definition

Indicates whether the patient is part of a multiple (boolean) or indicates the actual birth order (integer).

ShortWhether patient is part of a multiple birth
Comments

Where the valueInteger is provided, the number is the birth number in the sequence. E.g. The middle birth in triplets would be valueInteger=2 and the third born would have valueInteger=3 If a boolean value was provided for this triplets example, then all 3 patient records would have valueBoolean=true (the ordering is not indicated).

Control0..1
TypeChoice of: boolean, integer
[x] NoteSee Choice of Data Types for further information about how to use [x]
Is Modifierfalse
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summaryfalse
Requirements

For disambiguation of multiple-birth children, especially relevant where the care provider doesn't meet the patient, such as labs.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
84. Patient.photo
Definition

Image of the patient.

ShortImage of the patient
Comments

Guidelines:

  • Use id photos, not clinical photos.
  • Limit dimensions to thumbnail.
  • Keep byte count low to ease resource updates.
Control0..*
TypeAttachment
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Many EHR systems have the capability to capture an image of the patient. Fits with newer social media usage too.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
86. Patient.contact
Definition

A contact party (e.g. guardian, partner, friend) for the patient.

ShortA contact party (e.g. guardian, partner, friend) for the patient
Comments

Contact covers all kinds of contact parties: family members, business contacts, guardians, caregivers. Not applicable to register pedigree and family ties beyond use of having contact.

Control0..*
TypeBackboneElement
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Need to track people you can contact about the patient.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
pat-1: SHALL at least contain a contact's details or a reference to an organization (name.exists() or telecom.exists() or address.exists() or organization.exists())
SlicingThis element introduces a set of slices on Patient.contact. The slices are unordered and Open, and can be differentiated using the following discriminators:
  • value @ relationship
88. Patient.contact.id
Definition

Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

ShortUnique id for inter-element referencing
Control0..1
Typestring
Is Modifierfalse
XML FormatIn the XML format, this property is represented as an attribute.
Summaryfalse
90. Patient.contact.extension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

ShortAdditional content defined by implementations
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Alternate Namesextensions, user content
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
92. Patient.contact.modifierExtension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element and that modifies the understanding of the element in which it is contained and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

ShortExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognized
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifiertrue because Modifier extensions are expected to modify the meaning or interpretation of the element that contains them
Summarytrue
Requirements

Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

Alternate Namesextensions, user content, modifiers
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
94. Patient.contact.relationship
Definition

The nature of the relationship between the patient and the contact person.

ShortThe kind of relationship
Control0..*
BindingUnless not suitable, these codes SHALL be taken from PatientContactRelationship

The nature of the relationship between a patient and a contact person for that patient.

TypeCodeableConcept
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Used to determine which contact person is the most relevant to approach, depending on circumstances.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
96. Patient.contact.name
Definition

A name associated with the contact person.

ShortA name associated with the contact person
Control0..1
TypeHumanName
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Contact persons need to be identified by name, but it is uncommon to need details about multiple other names for that contact person.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
98. Patient.contact.telecom
Definition

A contact detail for the person, e.g. a telephone number or an email address.

ShortA contact detail for the person
Comments

Contact may have multiple ways to be contacted with different uses or applicable periods. May need to have options for contacting the person urgently, and also to help with identification.

Control0..*
TypeContactPoint
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

People have (primary) ways to contact them in some way such as phone, email.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
100. Patient.contact.address
Definition

Address for the contact person.

ShortAddress for the contact person
Control0..1
TypeAddress
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Need to keep track where the contact person can be contacted per postal mail or visited.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
102. Patient.contact.gender
Definition

Administrative Gender - the gender that the contact person is considered to have for administration and record keeping purposes.

Shortmale | female | other | unknown
Control0..1
BindingThe codes SHALL be taken from AdministrativeGender

The gender of a person used for administrative purposes.

Typecode
Is Modifierfalse
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Needed to address the person correctly.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
104. Patient.contact.organization
Definition

Organization on behalf of which the contact is acting or for which the contact is working.

ShortOrganization that is associated with the contact
Control0..1
This element is affected by the following invariants: pat-1
TypeReference(Organization)
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

For guardians or business related contacts, the organization is relevant.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
106. Patient.contact.period
Definition

The period during which this contact person or organization is valid to be contacted relating to this patient.

ShortThe period during which this contact person or organization is valid to be contacted relating to this patient
Control0..1
TypePeriod
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
108. Patient.contact:contact
Slice Namecontact
Definition

A contact party (e.g. guardian, partner, friend) for the patient.

ShortContact data if it is not address of patient
Comments

Contact covers all kinds of contact parties: family members, business contacts, guardians, caregivers. Not applicable to register pedigree and family ties beyond use of having contact.

Control0..1
TypeBackboneElement
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Need to track people you can contact about the patient.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
pat-1: SHALL at least contain a contact's details or a reference to an organization (name.exists() or telecom.exists() or address.exists() or organization.exists())
110. Patient.contact:contact.id
Definition

Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

ShortUnique id for inter-element referencing
Control0..1
Typestring
Is Modifierfalse
XML FormatIn the XML format, this property is represented as an attribute.
Summaryfalse
112. Patient.contact:contact.extension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

ShortAdditional content defined by implementations
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Alternate Namesextensions, user content
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
114. Patient.contact:contact.modifierExtension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element and that modifies the understanding of the element in which it is contained and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

ShortExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognized
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifiertrue because Modifier extensions are expected to modify the meaning or interpretation of the element that contains them
Summarytrue
Requirements

Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

Alternate Namesextensions, user content, modifiers
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
116. Patient.contact:contact.relationship
Definition

The nature of the relationship between the patient and the contact person.

ShortThe kind of relationship
Control1..1
BindingUnless not suitable, these codes SHALL be taken from PatientContactRelationship

The nature of the relationship between a patient and a contact person for that patient.

TypeCodeableConcept
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Used to determine which contact person is the most relevant to approach, depending on circumstances.

Pattern Value&lt;valueCodeableConcept&nbsp;xmlns=&quot;http://hl7.org/fhir&quot;&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;coding&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;system&nbsp;value=&quot;http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-core/CodeSystem/ech-11&quot;/&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;code&nbsp;value=&quot;contactData&quot;/&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;/coding&gt;<br/>&lt;/valueCodeableConcept&gt;<br/>
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
118. Patient.contact:contact.name
Definition

A name associated with the contact person.

ShortA name associated with the contact person
Control0..1
TypeHumanName
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Contact persons need to be identified by name, but it is uncommon to need details about multiple other names for that contact person.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
120. Patient.contact:contact.telecom
Definition

A contact detail for the person, e.g. a telephone number or an email address.

ShortA contact detail for the person
Comments

Contact may have multiple ways to be contacted with different uses or applicable periods. May need to have options for contacting the person urgently, and also to help with identification.

Control0..0
TypeContactPoint
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

People have (primary) ways to contact them in some way such as phone, email.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
122. Patient.contact:contact.address
Definition

An address expressed using postal conventions (as opposed to GPS or other location definition formats). This data type may be used to convey addresses for use in delivering mail as well as for visiting locations which might not be valid for mail delivery. There are a variety of postal address formats defined around the world.

ShortAn address expressed using postal conventions (as opposed to GPS or other location definition formats)
Comments

Note: address is intended to describe postal addresses for administrative purposes, not to describe absolute geographical coordinates. Postal addresses are often used as proxies for physical locations (also see the Location resource).

Control1..1
This element is affected by the following invariants: ele-1
TypeAddress(CH Core Postal Address)
Is Modifierfalse
Requirements

Need to keep track where the contact person can be contacted per postal mail or visited.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ch-addr-2: For a Swiss address, a canton abbreviation from the value set 'eCH-0007 Canton Abbreviation' must be used. (country.extension.where(url = 'http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/iso21090-SC-coding').empty() or (country.extension.where(url = 'http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/iso21090-SC-coding').value.code.startsWith('CH') = false) or (country.extension.where(url = 'http://hl7.org/fhir/StructureDefinition/iso21090-SC-coding').value.code.startsWith('CH').exists() and (state.empty() or state.memberOf('http://fhir.ch/ig/ch-core/ValueSet/ech-7-cantonabbreviation'))))
124. Patient.contact:contact.gender
Definition

Administrative Gender - the gender that the contact person is considered to have for administration and record keeping purposes.

Shortmale | female | other | unknown
Control0..1
BindingThe codes SHALL be taken from AdministrativeGender

The gender of a person used for administrative purposes.

Typecode
Is Modifierfalse
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Needed to address the person correctly.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
126. Patient.contact:contact.organization
Definition

Organization on behalf of which the contact is acting or for which the contact is working.

ShortOrganization that is associated with the contact
Control0..1
This element is affected by the following invariants: pat-1
TypeReference(Organization)
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

For guardians or business related contacts, the organization is relevant.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
128. Patient.contact:contact.period
Definition

The period during which this contact person or organization is valid to be contacted relating to this patient.

ShortThe period during which this contact person or organization is valid to be contacted relating to this patient
Control0..1
TypePeriod
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
130. Patient.contact:nameOfParent
Slice NamenameOfParent
Definition

A contact party (e.g. guardian, partner, friend) for the patient.

ShortName of parent
Comments

Contact covers all kinds of contact parties: family members, business contacts, guardians, caregivers. Not applicable to register pedigree and family ties beyond use of having contact.

Control0..*
TypeBackboneElement
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Need to track people you can contact about the patient.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
pat-1: SHALL at least contain a contact's details or a reference to an organization (name.exists() or telecom.exists() or address.exists() or organization.exists())
132. Patient.contact:nameOfParent.id
Definition

Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

ShortUnique id for inter-element referencing
Control0..1
Typestring
Is Modifierfalse
XML FormatIn the XML format, this property is represented as an attribute.
Summaryfalse
134. Patient.contact:nameOfParent.extension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

ShortAdditional content defined by implementations
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Alternate Namesextensions, user content
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
136. Patient.contact:nameOfParent.modifierExtension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element and that modifies the understanding of the element in which it is contained and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

ShortExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognized
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifiertrue because Modifier extensions are expected to modify the meaning or interpretation of the element that contains them
Summarytrue
Requirements

Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

Alternate Namesextensions, user content, modifiers
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
138. Patient.contact:nameOfParent.relationship
Definition

The nature of the relationship between the patient and the contact person.

ShortThe kind of relationship
Control1..1
BindingUnless not suitable, these codes SHALL be taken from PatientContactRelationship

The nature of the relationship between a patient and a contact person for that patient.

TypeCodeableConcept
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Used to determine which contact person is the most relevant to approach, depending on circumstances.

Pattern Value&lt;valueCodeableConcept&nbsp;xmlns=&quot;http://hl7.org/fhir&quot;&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;coding&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;system&nbsp;value=&quot;http://terminology.hl7.org/CodeSystem/v3-RoleCode&quot;/&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;code&nbsp;value=&quot;PRN&quot;/&gt;<br/>&nbsp;&nbsp;&lt;/coding&gt;<br/>&lt;/valueCodeableConcept&gt;<br/>
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
140. Patient.contact:nameOfParent.name
Definition

A name associated with the contact person.

ShortA name associated with the contact person
Control1..1
TypeHumanName
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Contact persons need to be identified by name, but it is uncommon to need details about multiple other names for that contact person.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
142. Patient.contact:nameOfParent.telecom
Definition

A contact detail for the person, e.g. a telephone number or an email address.

ShortA contact detail for the person
Comments

Contact may have multiple ways to be contacted with different uses or applicable periods. May need to have options for contacting the person urgently, and also to help with identification.

Control0..*
TypeContactPoint
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

People have (primary) ways to contact them in some way such as phone, email.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
144. Patient.contact:nameOfParent.address
Definition

Address for the contact person.

ShortAddress for the contact person
Control0..1
TypeAddress
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Need to keep track where the contact person can be contacted per postal mail or visited.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
146. Patient.contact:nameOfParent.gender
Definition

Administrative Gender - the gender that the contact person is considered to have for administration and record keeping purposes.

Shortmale | female | other | unknown
Control0..1
BindingThe codes SHALL be taken from AdministrativeGender

The gender of a person used for administrative purposes.

Typecode
Is Modifierfalse
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Needed to address the person correctly.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
148. Patient.contact:nameOfParent.organization
Definition

Organization on behalf of which the contact is acting or for which the contact is working.

ShortOrganization that is associated with the contact
Control0..1
This element is affected by the following invariants: pat-1
TypeReference(Organization)
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

For guardians or business related contacts, the organization is relevant.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
150. Patient.contact:nameOfParent.period
Definition

The period during which this contact person or organization is valid to be contacted relating to this patient.

ShortThe period during which this contact person or organization is valid to be contacted relating to this patient
Control0..1
TypePeriod
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
152. Patient.communication
Definition

A language which may be used to communicate with the patient about his or her health.

ShortA language which may be used to communicate with the patient about his or her health
Comments

If no language is specified, this implies that the default local language is spoken. If you need to convey proficiency for multiple modes, then you need multiple Patient.Communication associations. For animals, language is not a relevant field, and should be absent from the instance. If the Patient does not speak the default local language, then the Interpreter Required Standard can be used to explicitly declare that an interpreter is required.

Control0..*
TypeBackboneElement
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

If a patient does not speak the local language, interpreters may be required, so languages spoken and proficiency are important things to keep track of both for patient and other persons of interest.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
SlicingThis element introduces a set of slices on Patient.communication. The slices are unordered and Open, and can be differentiated using the following discriminators:
  • value @ preferred
154. Patient.communication.id
Definition

Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

ShortUnique id for inter-element referencing
Control0..1
Typestring
Is Modifierfalse
XML FormatIn the XML format, this property is represented as an attribute.
Summaryfalse
156. Patient.communication.extension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

ShortAdditional content defined by implementations
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Alternate Namesextensions, user content
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
158. Patient.communication.modifierExtension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element and that modifies the understanding of the element in which it is contained and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

ShortExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognized
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifiertrue because Modifier extensions are expected to modify the meaning or interpretation of the element that contains them
Summarytrue
Requirements

Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

Alternate Namesextensions, user content, modifiers
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
160. Patient.communication.language
Definition

The ISO-639-1 alpha 2 code in lower case for the language, optionally followed by a hyphen and the ISO-3166-1 alpha 2 code for the region in upper case; e.g. "en" for English, or "en-US" for American English versus "en-EN" for England English.

ShortThe language which can be used to communicate with the patient about his or her health
Comments

The structure aa-BB with this exact casing is one the most widely used notations for locale. However not all systems actually code this but instead have it as free text. Hence CodeableConcept instead of code as the data type.

Control1..1
BindingThe codes SHOULD be taken from CommonLanguages

A human language.

Additional BindingsPurpose
AllLanguagesMax Binding
TypeCodeableConcept
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Most systems in multilingual countries will want to convey language. Not all systems actually need the regional dialect.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
162. Patient.communication.preferred
Definition

Indicates whether or not the patient prefers this language (over other languages he masters up a certain level).

ShortLanguage preference indicator
Comments

This language is specifically identified for communicating healthcare information.

Control0..1
Typeboolean
Is Modifierfalse
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summaryfalse
Requirements

People that master multiple languages up to certain level may prefer one or more, i.e. feel more confident in communicating in a particular language making other languages sort of a fall back method.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
164. Patient.communication:languageOfCorrespondence
Slice NamelanguageOfCorrespondence
Definition

A language which may be used to communicate with the patient about his or her health.

ShortLanguage of correspondence
Comments

If no language is specified, this implies that the default local language is spoken. If you need to convey proficiency for multiple modes, then you need multiple Patient.Communication associations. For animals, language is not a relevant field, and should be absent from the instance. If the Patient does not speak the default local language, then the Interpreter Required Standard can be used to explicitly declare that an interpreter is required.

Control0..1
TypeBackboneElement
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

If a patient does not speak the local language, interpreters may be required, so languages spoken and proficiency are important things to keep track of both for patient and other persons of interest.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
166. Patient.communication:languageOfCorrespondence.id
Definition

Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

ShortUnique id for inter-element referencing
Control0..1
Typestring
Is Modifierfalse
XML FormatIn the XML format, this property is represented as an attribute.
Summaryfalse
168. Patient.communication:languageOfCorrespondence.extension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

ShortAdditional content defined by implementations
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Alternate Namesextensions, user content
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
170. Patient.communication:languageOfCorrespondence.modifierExtension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element and that modifies the understanding of the element in which it is contained and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

ShortExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognized
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifiertrue because Modifier extensions are expected to modify the meaning or interpretation of the element that contains them
Summarytrue
Requirements

Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

Alternate Namesextensions, user content, modifiers
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
172. Patient.communication:languageOfCorrespondence.language
Definition

The ISO-639-1 alpha 2 code in lower case for the language, optionally followed by a hyphen and the ISO-3166-1 alpha 2 code for the region in upper case; e.g. "en" for English, or "en-US" for American English versus "en-EN" for England English.

ShortThe language which can be used to communicate with the patient about his or her health
Comments

The structure aa-BB with this exact casing is one the most widely used notations for locale. However not all systems actually code this but instead have it as free text. Hence CodeableConcept instead of code as the data type.

Control1..1
BindingThe codes SHOULD be taken from CommonLanguages

A human language.

Additional BindingsPurpose
AllLanguagesMax Binding
TypeCodeableConcept
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Requirements

Most systems in multilingual countries will want to convey language. Not all systems actually need the regional dialect.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
174. Patient.communication:languageOfCorrespondence.preferred
Definition

Indicates whether or not the patient prefers this language (over other languages he masters up a certain level).

ShortLanguage preference indicator
Comments

This language is specifically identified for communicating healthcare information.

Control1..1
Typeboolean
Is Modifierfalse
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summaryfalse
Requirements

People that master multiple languages up to certain level may prefer one or more, i.e. feel more confident in communicating in a particular language making other languages sort of a fall back method.

Fixed Valuetrue
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
176. Patient.generalPractitioner
Definition

Patient's nominated care provider.

ShortPatient's nominated primary care provider
Comments

This may be the primary care provider (in a GP context), or it may be a patient nominated care manager in a community/disability setting, or even organization that will provide people to perform the care provider roles. It is not to be used to record Care Teams, these should be in a CareTeam resource that may be linked to the CarePlan or EpisodeOfCare resources. Multiple GPs may be recorded against the patient for various reasons, such as a student that has his home GP listed along with the GP at university during the school semesters, or a "fly-in/fly-out" worker that has the onsite GP also included with his home GP to remain aware of medical issues.

Jurisdictions may decide that they can profile this down to 1 if desired, or 1 per type.

Control0..*
TypeReference(Organization, Practitioner, PractitionerRole)
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Alternate NamescareProvider
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
178. Patient.managingOrganization
Definition

Organization that is the custodian of the patient record.

ShortOrganization that is the custodian of the patient record
Comments

There is only one managing organization for a specific patient record. Other organizations will have their own Patient record, and may use the Link property to join the records together (or a Person resource which can include confidence ratings for the association).

Control0..1
TypeReference(Organization)
Is Modifierfalse
Summarytrue
Requirements

Need to know who recognizes this patient record, manages and updates it.

Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
180. Patient.link
Definition

Link to another patient resource that concerns the same actual patient.

ShortLink to another patient resource that concerns the same actual person
Comments

There is no assumption that linked patient records have mutual links.

Control0..*
TypeBackboneElement
Is Modifiertrue because This element is labeled as a modifier because it might not be the main Patient resource, and the referenced patient should be used instead of this Patient record. This is when the link.type value is 'replaced-by'
Summarytrue
Requirements

There are multiple use cases:

  • Duplicate patient records due to the clerical errors associated with the difficulties of identifying humans consistently, and
  • Distribution of patient information across multiple servers.
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
182. Patient.link.id
Definition

Unique id for the element within a resource (for internal references). This may be any string value that does not contain spaces.

ShortUnique id for inter-element referencing
Control0..1
Typestring
Is Modifierfalse
XML FormatIn the XML format, this property is represented as an attribute.
Summaryfalse
184. Patient.link.extension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension.

ShortAdditional content defined by implementations
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifierfalse
Summaryfalse
Alternate Namesextensions, user content
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
186. Patient.link.modifierExtension
Definition

May be used to represent additional information that is not part of the basic definition of the element and that modifies the understanding of the element in which it is contained and/or the understanding of the containing element's descendants. Usually modifier elements provide negation or qualification. To make the use of extensions safe and manageable, there is a strict set of governance applied to the definition and use of extensions. Though any implementer can define an extension, there is a set of requirements that SHALL be met as part of the definition of the extension. Applications processing a resource are required to check for modifier extensions.

Modifier extensions SHALL NOT change the meaning of any elements on Resource or DomainResource (including cannot change the meaning of modifierExtension itself).

ShortExtensions that cannot be ignored even if unrecognized
Comments

There can be no stigma associated with the use of extensions by any application, project, or standard - regardless of the institution or jurisdiction that uses or defines the extensions. The use of extensions is what allows the FHIR specification to retain a core level of simplicity for everyone.

Control0..*
TypeExtension
Is Modifiertrue because Modifier extensions are expected to modify the meaning or interpretation of the element that contains them
Summarytrue
Requirements

Modifier extensions allow for extensions that cannot be safely ignored to be clearly distinguished from the vast majority of extensions which can be safely ignored. This promotes interoperability by eliminating the need for implementers to prohibit the presence of extensions. For further information, see the definition of modifier extensions.

Alternate Namesextensions, user content, modifiers
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
ext-1: Must have either extensions or value[x], not both (extension.exists() != value.exists())
188. Patient.link.other
Definition

The other patient resource that the link refers to.

ShortThe other patient or related person resource that the link refers to
Comments

Referencing a RelatedPerson here removes the need to use a Person record to associate a Patient and RelatedPerson as the same individual.

Control1..1
TypeReference(Patient, RelatedPerson)
Is Modifierfalse
Summarytrue
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))
190. Patient.link.type
Definition

The type of link between this patient resource and another patient resource.

Shortreplaced-by | replaces | refer | seealso
Control1..1
BindingThe codes SHALL be taken from LinkType

The type of link between this patient resource and another patient resource.

Typecode
Is Modifierfalse
Primitive ValueThis primitive element may be present, or absent, or replaced by an extension
Summarytrue
Invariantsele-1: All FHIR elements must have a @value or children (hasValue() or (children().count() > id.count()))